Ahead of this week’s release of a highly anticipated Papal Encyclical on climate change, climate justice advocates have sent a formal letter (in Spanish) to the Pontiff. Signed by Reverent Nnimmo Bassey (Nigeria) Desmond D’Sa (South Africa), Ricardo Navarro (El Salvador) Sven Peek (South Africa), Reverend Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo (Nigeria), Obispo Geoff Davies (South Africa) Reverend Dr. Tolbert Thomas Jallah, Jr. (Liberia) and supported by 38 climate justice organisations and networks, the letter outlines the systemic approach that climate justice movements take to the climate crisis. It discusses the need for setting a global temperature limit at 1.5°C and for converting that limit into an emissions budget before then proposing how to share that emissions budget between countries based on principles of justice. The letter then outlines justice-based policies and approaches to be implemented to meet this budget and warns against using the climate crisis as an excuse to adopt false ‘solutions’ that what exacerbate human suffering. It concludes that climate change is a grave challenge, but also an opportunity to re-orientate our communities and our societies to live in harmony and solidarity with each other and all creation.

For non-Spanish speakers, here is the English version of the “Climate Justice Perspectives” section which forms the bulk of the letter.